Mourinho’s challenge to Manchester stars

Jose Mourinho has challenged his Manchester United stars to use their dramatic League Cup final win against Southampton as a springboard to bigger prizes.

Mourinho became the first Manchester United manager to win a trophy in a debut season by lifting the EFL Cup at Wembley Stadium and the boss was “emotional” when discussing the success, praising two-goal hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic and applauding the efforts of Southampton.

He has now won the competition four times in total following previous triumphs with Chelsea, which makes him the most decorated manager in League Cup history alongside Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough.

Mourinho thinks striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will stay at the club for another year.

Ibrahimovic, 35, joined United in the summer on a one-year deal – with an option to extend his stay at Old Trafford for a second season.

Now Mourinho wants his players to learn from the winning feeling as they chase FA Cup and Europa League titles this term, and ideally Premier League and Champions League glory next season.

“The reality is that we want more: my contract is long, I have two more years with this one, so hopefully I can win more,” Mourinho said.